At Last: Chicago Fire 2, L.A. Galaxy 1
CHICAGO, Ill. — For the first time in nearly two months, the Chicago FIre won a soccer game. Goals from Hugo Cuypers and Brian Gutiérrez fuelled a thrilling comeback against the high-flying L.A. Galaxy on a rainy June night at Soldier Field.
Frank Klopas stuck with the five-back system that had been fairly successful in the Fire’s two previous matches, a pair of 1-1 draws against D.C. United and Orlando City. Allan Arigoni returned to the lineup after missing out on Wednesday’s midweek game through suspension, while Maren Haile-Selassie started as a second striker alongside Hugo Cuypers in a 3-5-2.
Within five minutes, the Fire had already dug themselves into a hole, not too dissimilar from the Orlando game. This time, it was Rafa Czichos at fault, as he committed a handball offense inside his own penalty box. The Galaxy’s star Designated Player, ex-Barcelona prospect Riqui Puig, calmly converted the shot in the bottom left corner, past the outstretched arm of Chris Brady.
After taking the lead, the Galaxy seemed to be in control, but neither team took any shots at goal for the rest of the first half-hour. It wasn’t until the 33rd minute when the Fire’s big-money DP, Hugo Cuypers, pounced on a loose ball inside the penalty areas and knocked the ball home to tie the game at one apiece.
Cuypers’ goal – the Fire’s first tally in the first half of a game in nearly two months – breathed life and confidence into the team. The momentum shifted in favor of the home team, and homegrown attacking midfielder Brian Gutiérrez, who had been officially credited with an assist on the goal, shot just wide near the end of the half.
The 20-year-old rising star Gutiérrez has demonstrated a fresh boost of confidence since Xherdan Shaqiri left the team for the Euros last week. He finally got his reward for his improvement in form when, in the 61st minute, he took a rip from distance that went off of both posts before going in. Despite the shot’s goal probability of just 2% according to its expected goals, it was enough to propel the Fire into their first lead since the start of April.
It would also be enough to guide Frank Klopas and the Chicago Fire to their first win in eight weeks. In the second half, L.A. provided little threat going forward, and their star man Puig was seemingly unable to cope with the hostile, 25,237-strong Chicago crowd, which had turned on him quickly. Though one of the league’s leading players this season, Puig was booed relentlessly upon every touch and looked shaken as the Galaxy chased the game.
Despite far from favorable weather, the impressive crowd fueled the home team just enough to finally record their third win of the season right at the campaign’s halfway point. The 3-5-2 tightened up into a 5-4-1, and the Men in Red got over the finish line and finally are back in the winner’s circle.
The Fire enter the international break still four points out of the playoff spots, but having picked up a marquee win against a free-scoring team currently third in the Western Conference, they may find a new breath of confidence for the summer. Nonetheless, they’ll have to wait two weeks before their next match at Toronto on June 15th.
